A Special Christmas
by LordDLadyS
Summary: A christmas special written on 24th December 2004. It's Hermione's last christmas at Hogwarts and how would she spend it? Read on to find out.
1. Chapter I

Title: A Special Christmas

Author: Ex libris(from the libray of) Lord D and Lady S  
Date written: 24th December 2004

Edited: 11th May 2005

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot is our though

Authors' Notes: This story takes place in the 7th year of the golden trio.

_The snow couldn't have been more white than the last Christmas,_ Hermione thought, as she looked out of the window from the Owlery. There she was to find Hedwig to send a letter to her parents, informing them that she was not joining them for their planned ski trip this Christmas, since she had to stay at Hogwarts, or rather, _needed_ to be at Hogwarts, to be within the safety of the school. Soon the final battle with Voldemort would begin, and whether they win or lose would be hard to know. It would be best if she wrote to her parents now and inform them of the risk she's taking for her best friends and all who were close to her…with, perhaps, the exception of one particular man. A professor, to be exact. A well-known by all and feared professor. The Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape.

The mere thought of him, the mere voice of his sent Hermione senses reeling, and with the feeling of wanting to cry. Soon, either one of them would die, or probably both would receive the same fate, and yet, she still couldn't find the courage to tell him of her feelings for him. Ever since she had known that he had the Dark Mark, she knew the fate that would await him in the wings. He would either die at the hands of the Dark Lord for being a double-crosser, or killed on the battlefield. Hermione knew she had to tell him of her feelings for him soon, before it was too late, and yet, she just couldn't find the courage to do so.

As she tied the letter for her parents to Hedwig's leg, she once again considered the idea of writing a letter to him instead. She sighed, knowing that the answer would still be the same: For no matter how good she may be with words, it would only be useful when she's writing a essay, not a letter to her love.

_And I don't even have the authority to call or brand him as mine._ Besides, should she inform him of her secret love for him, he would most definitely think that she was under the Imperius curse, since, in everyone's opinion, a girl of her standards would never stoop so low as to actually fall in love with her professor, and worse, a Death Eater too.

As she walked up the winding staircase back to the entrance of the Owlery, she thought of the days of observing him and listening to every word he says had become such a habit, a hobby, a _pleasure _had resulted her to fall in love with him. Since learning that he was spying for the Order and passing false information to Voldemort at his own risk, she developed a deep respect and admiration for him, knowing that these tasks would require a large amount of sacrifice and courage to accomplish and to endure. Courage, something she did not have.

Sighing, Hermione pushed open the door, and slammed into something big obstructing her way. Something which felt like velvet against her cheek with a tinge smell of sandalwood, and a warm body underneath the clothing. She looked up and met black orbs staring back into her brown eyes, and felt herself drowning in them.

Severus Snape couldn't have been more surprised when the door to the Owlery opened before he could even wrap his fingers around the latch of the door, and the person whom he thought did him a service just collide into him and wiped out the only good point which might save the poor person a rebuke from him. He looked down to see a bunch of brown curls and a most inviting bottom waiting to be spanked by him, and froze when he felt the girl's, yes, most definitely a _girl_, cheek pressed to his white shirt he wore underneath his black robes. And, Oh Gods, the _length_ of her body, the warm heat radiating from her body and the divine smell of iris and mulberry root—wait, what is he thinking! Just who is this girl who had the _audacity _to SLAM into the most feared professor of Hogwarts? And just when he opened his mouth to start talking, the girl looked up. _Chocolate_, he thought. _That's the only irresistible thing to describe the color of her eye_—Wait. _Irresistible_! Oh Gods, this is a STUDENT he's thinking about! Severus pushed the girl away, and was shocked to see the Head Girl was actually the girl who had slammed into him. _And he described her as irresistible! _And worse, this is Hermione Granger, the best friend of Boy Wonder Potter and Weasley, one of the sickening three members of the golden trio! _Have you gone mad, Severus! You dare to have perverse thoughts about the pain-in-your-arse-Miss-Know-It-All!_

Shoving the annoying voice to the back of his head, he pushed Hermione away from him, gripping her forearms tightly and snarled the words that appeared in his mind "Miss Granger, if you can't seem to think or keep your eyes open and your brain functioning early in the morning, I suggest you NOT be awake so early and watch where you're going!"

Hermione, who had been drowning in the black pools of Severus' eyes, felt a jolt as she was pushed away from the Potions Master. Hearing his hurtful words, she flinched and looked up to his eyes and said "I'm sorry sir, but I know you were outside the door, and besides, I couldn't have known, unless you're suggesting that I have the power to look through doors and--"

Severus cut her off and leaned in, his eyes just a mere few inches away from hers. "Are you talking back at me, Miss Granger?" he asked softly.

Hermione, realizing her mistake, swallowed. "N-no sir."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Severus drew back and released his grip on her. "I hope you thrive to remember, Miss Granger, that you have absolutely NO right to put words into my mouth, or to assume what I think, and do watch where you're going next time!" And with that, he turned on his heels and walked away, his black robes billowing after him.

Hermione sank slowly to the floor, crying soundlessly. Gone were her hopes of pleasing the Potions Master…and the last possibility of him liking her.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter II

Title: A Special Christmas

Author: Ex libris(from the libray of) Lord D and Lady S

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot is ours though.

Authors' Notes: Notes? Oh! Thank You to DiscordantHarmony, Lady Silver Brooch, and Snape's Opera Rose for reviewing. Because of the length of the original story, we decided to cut it into at least 4 chapters. Please give us 2-4 weeks to edit! We're so very busy you know…Now, On with the story!

Chapter II  
Cursing vehemently under his breath, Severus Snape snarled the incantation to lower his wards before entering his private chamber. Walking over to his desk, he picked up the decanter and a bottle of Firewhisky, pouring a generous amount into the glass, and downed it in one gulp. Setting the glass down with a loud _thump_, he closed his eyes and scolded himself.

What could you be thinking, you oaf? Have you no consideration to her status here in the school? Her age? YOUR age? SHE is a student, and YOU are her professor! Don't get her tangled up in your lust-filled dreams! Besides, what would Albus say if he finds out? Minerva? The other professors? And, worse still, POTTER and WEASLEY!

Shaking his head, he poured more Firewhisky into the glass and downed it again in a gulp, but his mind dosen't seem to be taking the hint to stop painting images of Hermione and him tangled up in the silk green and black sheets of his bed—wait, did he just addressed Miss-Know-It-All by her given name and fantasize her in hos…BED!

Severus cursed more vehemently than before and pratically ran to his bathroom in his haste to take a cold shower. Maybe that might help…

…Would it?

Back at the entrance of the Owlery, Hermione Granger continued to sob quietly, her shoulders shaking with each silent sob. What can she do when her first and most possibly only crush don't even like her one bit, and hate her for who she was? And the war was going to start soon…and she hasn't even confess yet!

Hermione sniffled and wiped away her tears, trying desperately to wipe away every evidence of her crying, and tried not to lose hope. _Well, there's still Christmas. And Mom always said that Christmas is the most magical time of the year…if you believe in it._

Rubbing her eyes, she brightened at the possibility of the chance to make Professor Snape like her, even if it's just a _little _bit…after all, it's still an improvement right? It was Christmas, and it's the festival of giving, sharing and caring. Getting to her feet, she set her brain cells to work, thinking of the perfect moment to give Professor Snape the gift she had acquired for him…and to confess her love for him.

Back in the private chambers situated in the dungeons, Severus stepped out of the shower in a deep green robe, outlined with black fur and with his initials sewn onto it at the hem of the robe. Even after a cold bath did not help vanquishing the perverse thoughts he was having on Granger; instead it only helped to enhance the lurid thoughts! Throughout the whole shower, Severus only had images of Hermione wearing nothing but her luscious skin, water cascading down her back and bottom as she stood under the shower with him, and him ravishing her, his callused hands traveling over her bottom—

_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THINKING OF, YOU PERVERTED OLD MAN!_

Severus shook his head and snarled, stomping across the room and flung his wardrobe open but before he could reach for his customery black teaching robes, the Dark Mark started burning and with a sharp hiss, he clamped his hand over the dark mark. His mouth set into a grim line, he pulled out his deatheaters robes and mask and donned them before walking over to the fireplace the sent a written message to Dumbledore's office. Pulling on his black cloak to cover his deatheaters robes he exited his rooms and walked to the gates before Dissaparatting. If he had looked up while walking to the gates, he would have seen a girl with chocolate eyes and bushy hair of the same colour, wearing an worried expression, and a look of yearning looking down at him from a window.

TBC


	3. Chapter III

Title: A Special Christmas

Author: Ex libris(from the libray of) Lord D and Lady S

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot is ours though.

Chapter III

As Hermione walked down the corridors back to the Gryffindor Common Room, she couldn't help thinking of the Potion Master out in the cold beautiful blizzard for any other reason other than to respond to a summon from Voldemort. And that is enough for her to worry and fear for his safety…

…and his soul.

Arriving at the Riddle Manor where Voldemort was residing, Severus couldn't help but revolt at the smell of death and decomposition surrounding the place. Half eaten carcasses of unfortunate witches and female muggles who were discarded after countless rapes from the male death eaters were scattered along the corridors, results of Nargina's fussy eating habits.

As he walked deeper down the corridor, he soon neared the sitting room of the manor. Screams of another unfortunate female could be heard, and he could distinctly make out the disgustingly guttural sounds Peter Pettigrew was emitting as he continuously pounded into the poor woman. As he walked to the ring of death eaters surrounding the act of rape, he decided to put the poor woman out of her pain and prepared to cast the Killing Curse. But before he could do it, another death eater did the mercy killing.

With the chanted words of the curse, a green light emitted from Draco Malfoy's wand and the woman's eyes no longer were huge with revulsion but void of life. With a last groan, Peter Pettigrew plunged to the woman once more and came all over her.

Breathing hard as he buttoned his filthy robes, he panted to the Dark Lord who was sitting on the armchair illuminated by the fire burning in the hearth in the fireplace behind it.

"Thank you, my lord for your most generous reward. Thank you, thank you…"

Take her away, Peter, and do not come back till Nargina's satisfied with her flesh," hissed the Dark Lord.

"Yes, yes of course my lord…" Pettigrew complied, dragging the lifeless woman away with Nargina slithering behind him. Voldemort then focused his attention at the last and latest newcomer.

"Severus," he hissed, "What news do you bring of Hogwarts and its occupants?"

"My lord, as far as I know, Harry Potter and his loyal vassals are all staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. And not a day or moment are they not walking in large groups with at least two teachers in the same place at a distance of no less than 10 inches away. To attack now would not be the best of time, my lord."

"I see," Voldemort rasped. "So you are telling me that's all you can give me after 6 months of spying? And come back with such paltry information and dare tell ME what to do? _Crucio_."

As the beam of light hit him and his body convulsed in pain and agony, he thanked his good sense to brace himself for such a punishment and lessened the pain a little.

Hermione woke with a silent cry of pain and anguish from her dream and looked around frantically before remembering that she had fallen asleep on one the armchairs set near the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. Wrapping her arms around herself she closed her eyes and tried to block the image of Severus body contorting in pain on a cold concrete floor which appeared in her dream. Unconsciously, tears flowed and she cried for the second time in the day and got up to climb the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

When she reached the dormitory, she heard voices and laughter down at the Quidditch field. Pushing the windows open, she saw Harry and Ron throwing snowballs at Fred and George Weasley. One of the snowballs hit Ginny and some other students from the other houses and soon, a snowball war begun. Catching sight of her, Harry yelled out to her.

"Hey Hermione! Come on down and join in the fun!"

"Thanks, but I'll take a snow check! I'm tired!" she hollered back but before Harry could start his persuasion, he was hit by a snowball sent by Ginny. Grinning, he waved at her and turned back to have his revenge.

Smiling at their childish yet fun antics and bickering, she closed the windows with a snap and sighed, steam forming where she blew air out. Walking to her trunk, she drew out a carefully wrapped package with Severus' name written on it and fell on her bed with a tired "oomph".

Feeling a headache coming on, she tried to sleep but imagesof Severus convulsing in pain returned. Hugging the present to her chest, she wept herself to sleep, weeping for the pain Severus has taken into his soul and shared with no one and weeping for the hope that her present would be able to ease his pained and lonely soul.

Her last thought before giving up to slumber land were prayers of hope that the Potion Master would understand the meaning of the gift and not reject but embrace its help.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter IV

Title: A Special Christmas  
Author: Ex libris(from the libray of) Lord D and Lady S

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, the plot is ours though.

Author Notes: Wonder why Draco did the lady in question a favor and killed the woman in the last chapter…Don't you? And just a note to the readers out there…should you find this chapter not up to standard, well, forgive me for my co-writer/editor is abed sick so there. Criticisms are welcome. Lord D

Chapter IV  


It was dark with no trace of the moon when a loud Grandfather's Clock somewhere in Hogsmeade struck exactly 12 times to signal midnight. On the last "ding" sounded, it was followed by a loud "crack" with a "thud" of someone falling onto the snow.

And that someone was Severus Snape.

Gritting his teeth against the spasms shaking through his body, he waited for the spasms to die down before pushing himself up slowly and limped painstakingly back to his dungeons. Now breathing heavily, he reached for a particular potion among the rest, uncaring when few other vials fell and broke. The vial in question was a mixture of healing, dreamless, and pain-be-gone(sorry, but we just love the sound of it! L.D) potion and once he downed the potion, Severus began to feel the effects and before the minute hand on the clock hanging on the wall pointed to the number 10, he fell asleep on the carpeted floor of his study.

The next morning, Albus was seated behind his desk stroking the feathers of yet another 'new' Fawkes after he 'reborn' from the pile of ash when Severus stepped into his office, his robes billowing behind him. Still stroking Fawkes' feathers, he looked up at Severus and asked with concern. " How did the meeting go last night?"

"The usual Albus," Severus replied without any trace of emotion. He had long managed to avoid any sign of concern from Albus with his not-so-satisfactory answers. "With the Dark Lord desperate for more information which would help in the plans of the battle with Potter."

"I was afraid of that," Albus sighed. "Then again, that is expected." He looked searchingly over Severus before asking softly : "I expect he punished you for the lack of punishment and the news you gave him of the security around Harry and his friends being tightened?"

Severus hesitated before nodding.

Albus watched Severus' face tighten into a grim one, and sighed again. "I expect the battle would be starting soon. Even now, as we're speaking Severus, the children are preparing for the battle. I believe our dear Miss Granger is inventing new spells and hexes with Miss Weasley for the others to use during the battle…"

Hearing Hermione being mentioned, Severus' eyes raised to the Headmaster's face before lowering but the Headmaster caught the action. Such action only proved his suspicions right.

"…and I hope you would not be hard on either of them, Severus. They are, after all putting much effort in the battle. Besides, Miss Granger's graduating this year, and Miss Weasley would no doubt be receiving a token of playing a part in the battle, so her future is secured. Please do not make things difficult for them, or hurt their feelings."

Knowing that this was probably a bait to make him look up and reaffirm the Headmaster's suspicions, he dutifully nodded and with the customary words, he took his leave.

As the door shut behind him, Albus looked to Fawkes only to find his friend and pet sleeping and wondered aloud "I wonder, if I'm doing the right thing?"

atanotherplaceanothertime atanotherplaceanothertime

As the Headmaster had said, the students who opted to help the Order in the battle were busy, preparing for the oncoming battle, and with the decorations and preparations for the upcoming Christmas Ball. Knowing that this might be the last major school event for any of the students within the castle to rejoice together with their friends, the Prefect committee decided to make it as lavish as possible, and naturally enjoyable and memorable for everyone.

For Hermione, the work entrusted to her was definitely taking its toll on her. If she were not in the library looking up on hexes with Ginny or on charms and spells herself, she would be applying certain formulas to a new spell she was creating or busy directing the other students on the details and decorations preparations for the Christmas Ball.

But in the night, it's a different matter. While her day is taken over by her physical side, her nights are spent in the directions of her emotional side. Every night before she go to bed, she would take the present meant for the Potion Master and; hugging it to her chest, and walk over to the window and look out at the falling snow. Sometimes when she just cannot refrain from crying, she would run to her Head Girl's Suite just down the corridor due to Harry's insistence of keeping everyone around him safe, she decided to go along with his persuasion of remaining in the Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory even after she was made Head Girl and given a suite of her own. and cry her heart out in the privacy of her own room; without waking anyone or go through the trouble of casting a Silencing spell in her crying state, and fall asleep in her king-sized bed in the suite.

And so the pattern follows: Some nights were spent crying, and some spent fantasizing on what Severus Snape would do to her body when he finds out about her love for him and accept it, together with the rest of the package. Hermione had always wished for the Potion Master to be her first, being her first crush and love, but as a virgin, she did not dare to confess, much less try seducing him. Besides, he might just be repulsed by her attempts, or even highly amused at her attempts and that would only humiliate her more.

Ever since having a crush; gradually developed to love after she thought of the previous things he had done for the Order and the Wizarding World, on Severus Snape, she had been borrowing her mother's romance novels and reading them, immersing herself in romance stories of the nedieval times and of the 19th century. And with the information and scenarios extracted from these books and other texts, she tried fantasizing her first time with Severus Snape…except that it would never happen. And coming to this point, Hermione would break down to tears again.

Determined to stop the water buckets from flowing every conservative nights, she decided to confess it all on the night before Christmas, the very same night when the Christmas Ball is held. Lying on her bed in the dormitory, she planned on how to confess it all and make a good show of it without any flaws that would lead to humiliation, but ended up rejecting all ideas. When the day before the Christmas Ball came, the other Gryffindor girls cajoled Hermione into wearing the evening gown her mother had sent to her with her reply, as mentioned in Chapter I insisting that Hermione wear it. The letter was signed with cheerful words but the tear stains and the crispness of the paper betrayed her mother's true emotions, revealing that her parents knew the risk she was taking and accepting it.

As she stood in her suite modeling for the other girls, she was surprised at how beautiful she looked. The midnight blue satin gown hugged her curves and the V-neck halter emphasizing her bosom to all who see her. While the other girls exclaimed over her gown, she was dragged into the fantasy-world of presenting herself wearing the gown to the Potion Master, and what he would do, when the clock in her suite signaled the dinner time and rouse her out of her dreamland. The other girls made their excuses and scampered to the Great Hall, leaving Hermione deep in her thoughts.

Thinking back on her earlier fantasy, Hermione reflected that she never did plan on what to do should the Potion Master reject her.

_And should that happen, I would make my apologies on taking up his time, and politely excuse myself and walk out of the room with my head held high till the school closes…or when the war starts and lose all chances of seeing him again._

Hearing these words in her mind, tears welled up in her eyes, and Hermione frantically tried to wipe her tears away, all the while sniffing. Once regaining back her composure, she took off the dress, and dressed once again in her uniform, she set off to the Great Hall for her dinner.

Later in the night before she went to her bed, Hermione stood again at the window with her hands clasped together in a prayer-like manner, and prayed for the heavens to give her strength…and hope.

To Be Continued…

Lord D: Sorry for the dull chapter, but all the same, please review! Until the next chapter—with my co-writer.


	5. Authors' Note

Dear Readers,

I'm terribly sorry to everyone who has thus far read our story and are impatiently waiting for the next chapter to be posted. But I am very sorry to disappoint you for the fifth chapter of _A Special Christmas_ would be delayed because both writers(yes, unfortunately, I passed my flu to Lord D and now both of us are abed with fever too).

We're very sorry for the delay but we'll try to get the chapter up before the twelve days of Christmas are over. Until then, have a Merry Christmas!

Lady S


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